Before you rush out and buy an expensive metal detector.. New to metal detecting
There is an important question you must ask yourself. ‘Where will I go detecting?’ If you only plan to use it on a beach, great! The world is your oyster or rather, a lot of the English and Welsh foreshore is. It’s the only place you can lawfully go detecting without express permission HOWEVER, you will still need a permit! The good news is that its free and easy to obtain. All you need to do, is visit the crown estates website. Fill in the application form which only asks for a name and e-mail address. Read and agree to the terms and conditions and your done! Your permit will be sent by email within minutes, and will look like this:-
The holder of this permit has been granted consent by The Crown Estate to metal detect on Crown Estate foreshore.
Name: Fred-Bloggs
Email: Fred-Bloggs@yourmailbox
Permission is granted to metal detect by foot as a recreational pursuit on Crown Estate foreshore, subject to any further consents that may be required.
The permit holder confirms that he/she has read and understood the terms and conditions which apply to metal detecting on Crown Estate foreshore, and undertakes to comply with them.
The terms and conditions are to be found at:
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/rural-and-coastal/coastal/metal-detecting/metal-detecting-permit-application/
The Crown Estate generally seeks to encourage access over, and responsible use of, the foreshore and as a result Crown Estate consent for non-commercial metal detecting on the foreshore will not incur a charge. Foreshore in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is defined as the land between mean high water and mean low water. In Scotland the definition is between mean high water of spring tides and mean low water of spring tides.
Note – this permit does not apply to searching below the foreshore, i.e. on seabed for which a separate consent may be required. Please direct any enquiries over seabed searching to:enquiries@thecrownestate.co.uk
Get it here:-http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/coastal/metal-detecting/metal-detecting-permit-application/
So where are you going to go? That is the million dollar question! You can forget approaching the local council to ask for permission to detect the local parks and common land. I can assure you the answer will be a resounding “no” which is quite understandable really. This leaves only a few options. You can either join a metal detecting club and/or go on organised hunts and rallies, ( which may not entirely satisfy your appetite) or you can take the bull by the horns , and knock on some landowners doors and get permission yourself. This is the recommend path if you’re serious about detecting and want to find the good stuff. Think you’re up to that? What I’m trying to say is that there’s more to metal detecting than meets the eye. Its not quite as simple as buying a detector and you’re set.. You will soon run out of those local bits of land where you know you can ‘get away with it’ You are going to have to actively seek landowners permission. Be prepared to do this and you will have no problems. If you don’t think you can do this, I hope you live near the sea!
The Basics
There is only one way to guarantee you get the best out of your machine and not miss any targets. That is to hunt without any discrimination (all metal) and dig every signal. Having said that, its not really practicable unless you’re detecting in a junk free zone such as a countryside field, where signals of any kind are rare. It is my experience that you can trust your detectors ability to recognise and reject iron so use it! It will save you a lot of unproductive digging. However, always try to keep discrimination/masking to a minimum.
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